


Soul Marks

by artikgato



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 21:31:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18973129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artikgato/pseuds/artikgato
Summary: Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, Yosuke Hanamura found himself staring at the back of his left hand instead of paying attention to a teacher.





	Soul Marks

**Author's Note:**

> For Souyo week 2019 day 1 - soulmates

Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, Yosuke Hanamura found himself staring at the back of his left hand instead of paying attention to a teacher. At least this time, he wasn’t going to be paying for his inattentiveness with missing notes and a lower score on a test. It was the first day of the semester, and he’d already learned that the rumors about King Moron were very, very true. He had no real reason to pay attention to the blustering man, so he tuned him out and stared at his hand. Part of him kind of wanted to meet his soulmate here in Inaba, so that  _ something _ good would have come out of his being forced to move to the middle of nowhere, but at the same time...the only way he was meeting his soulmate here was if they were a tourist, or visiting a relative, or a transfer student— 

“Hey, Yosuke!” he heard someone whisper excitedly, and he looked up to find Chie Satonaka, one of the only people that was actually friendly to him in this town, gesturing excitedly to the front of the room. Yosuke blinked at her, and then followed her pointing. 

There was a guy at the front of the room, next to King Moron. He had his back turned to the class, because he was busily writing his name on the chalkboard. Yosuke barely read the name — Yu Narukami, or something like that — because he very quickly zeroed in on the marking that was on the back of the guy’s right hand, which he was using to write the name. It was a little hard to see because his hand was a) moving and b) far away, but there it was, clear as day, on the back of this transfer student’s hand. A mask, or face maybe, black on one side and an outline on the other, wreathed in...something. Yosuke felt his heart leap into his throat, but immediately calmed down. He looked back at Chie and pointed to her left hand, with a raised eyebrow. 

Every soul mark was different, but with there being so many people in the world, there were inevitably going to be many, many soul marks that looked  _ close _ to the same, but with minor differences. When Yosuke had first moved to Inaba, his soul mark had been a topic of furious debate, because it looked  _ very _ similar to the soul marks of the resident confirmed soulmate couple of Inaba, Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi. Theirs matched  _ exactly _ , a mask or face of some kind that was black on one side and an outline on the other, with what looked like fire on one side of the mask and snowflakes on the other. 

Chie had been one of the first people Yosuke had met, since they were in the same class the previous year. He’d seen her soul mark and excitedly claimed that they matched, so they must be soulmates, but she’d shut him down  _ immediately _ , saying “Sorry, but you can’t be my soulmate, I already have one!”. It had been embarrassing, but it had led to them being...whatever they were. Friends? Acquaintances? Friendly acquaintances? Well, whatever it was, he was still grateful for it. Chie and Yukiko were two of the very few students that would even give Yosuke the time of day, let alone be  _ nice _ to him. 

King Moron droned on about how the new guy — it was definitely “Yu Narukami” — was just trash from the city and girls shouldn’t get ideas about dating him. Chie raised her hand.

“Can the new guy sit here?” she asked, and King Moron made a disgruntled face at her, but agreed, sending him to his seat, which was right in front of Yosuke. Yosuke got a good look at him now, trying to stamp down the rising nervousness and excitement and dread in his stomach. He was tall, probably a little taller than Yosuke, and his obviously dyed silver hair (what a weird color for a teenager, Yosuke thought) was styled into a ridiculous bowl cut. Despite that, he had a handsome face and striking silver eyes. He was certainly attractive, Yosuke could give him that, but...well. 

He was a guy. 

Yeah, even if his mark was similar to Yosuke’s there was  _ no way _ they matched, because he was a  _ guy _ , after all, and Yosuke wasn’t into  _ guys _ .

“Hey new guy!” Chie whispered, leaning over toward him excitedly. “Can I see your soul mark? Sorry, I know it’s rude to ask when we just met but—”

“All right, shut yer traps! Satonaka, eyes forward!” King Moron interrupted her, and she leaned back into her seat with a pout, folding her arms in annoyance. 

Yosuke spent the rest of the lecture staring at his own soul mark, and trying (and failing) to get a good look at the new guy’s mark, only to berate himself about it. He didn’t need to look, because there was absolutely no way they matched! It was fine! Maybe he’d compare with the new guy and they’d be close but not  _ exact _ and they’d get a good laugh about it, it and become friends. He was a transfer from the city, just like the new guy, so they had some common ground, after all. 

After what seemed like  _ eons _ , King Moron finally wrapped up his lecture, and the students were left with a few minutes between classes to talk amongst themselves, or go to the bathroom, or do whatever they wanted. Chie  _ immediately _ turned in her desk to face both Yosuke and the new guy, Yukiko also turning excitedly towards them.

“Hey, sorry about earlier, and I know it’s rude, but I’ve gotta see your soul mark!” she told the new guy. Yosuke noticed several other students turning to face them, curious. Chie looked at him. “You too, Yosuke! Gimme your hand!” 

“What? No. There’s no way they’re gonna match,” he protested. The new guy —  _ Yu _ , Yosuke reminded himself — turned to look at him, curious. Chie looked like she was going to stand up and  _ make _ him hold out his hand, so he did, exasperated. Yu held his right hand up to compare, and—

No way.

Chie gasped, Yukiko was practically out of her seat trying to see, and pretty much  _ everyone _ in the room was looking at them, now, not that Yosuke really noticed that, because he was way too busy being flabbergasted by what he was seeing.

They were a match. An  _ exact match _ . Everything from the markings on the ‘faces’ to the pattern around them, splintering lines on one side that Yosuke had always thought looked like lightning, and gentle curves on the other, symbolizing wind, perhaps? Every line and curve were  _ Exact. Matches. _

“Um,” Yosuke managed to say, looking up at Yu — his  _ soulmate _ ,  _ apparently _ — in shock. Yu was mirroring his expression, so Yosuke felt a little bit better about the situation. Yosuke shook his head and cleared his throat. “This...this can’t be right...I mean, you... _ I… _ ” he stammered.

“Put your palms together!” Yukiko excitedly told them. “That’s how you’ll know!”

“W-what’ll happen?” Yosuke asked, even as Yu reached for his hand. He jerked it away reflexively, and looked up to see Yu looking a little put out.

“You’ll just know! It’ll feel all warm and stuff. At least...that’s what happened with me and Yukiko,” Chie explained, mumbling the last part of the sentence shyly. Yukiko nodded. 

“O...okay,” Yosuke replied. He looked to Yu, unsure, but stuck his hand out anyway. Yu nodded and grabbed it, firmly. And, indeed, it did feel...warm. But ‘warm’ was an understatement, because the instant their palms clasped together, Yosuke felt an almost hot, tingling feeling spread from his hand throughout his whole body, followed by a pleasant, floaty sensation. He looked up and locked eyes with Yu, and he  _ knew _ . He just  _ knew _ .

“Well, that...settles it, I guess,” Yu said, and Yosuke was startled to realize it was the first time he’d actually heard him speak since his introduction that morning. And,  _ wow _ , he had a nice voice. And face. And his hand was — nice. 

And they were...soulmates. Somehow.

“I guess so,” Yosuke managed to squeak out.

It wasn’t until later that they figured out why their soul marks were so similar to Chie and Yukiko’s...and the reason for the peculiar patterns around the masks on each of their hands. It wasn’t until they fell into the TV world, in fact. 


End file.
